Star Dust
by Yuuki Imai
Summary: L has a sister and he's invited her to join the investigation. Funny thing is, she knows all about the Death Note. In fact, she's had a very interesting past involving it. . .
1. Prelude

**A/N: Yo! This is my first Death Note story :)**

**Read and review :D If you're going to flame me, then I'd rather you put some constructive criticism in there, so I can make this story better. **_**If you don't like the story, then don't say anything at all and don't bother to continue reading it**_** — it's that easy :) **

**But, for now, enjoy ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note.**

**NOTE: The following events (most of it) occur sometime between episode 11 and 12 :D**

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**.:: Prelude ::.**

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"_There have been thirty-eight more killings earlier today. The Japanese police seem to be in a tight spot as they try to uncover the identity of mass murderer, Kira. . ._"

There was a _click_ and the television was turned off.

"Is there something wrong, Hikari?" a woman asked, turning around to face her companion.

The black-haired girl repositioned herself on the sofa, folding her legs beneath her. "No," she responded. "The news doesn't have that much to tell us, does it, Akane-san?"

Akane raised her brow and spoke slowly, measuring her words. "About Kira? Well, this has been going on for quite a while; I don't expect them to have anything new at the moment."

Hikari pouted, pondering. "I guess not. I should be one of the first to know if there was anything new, anyway," she muttered.

"What's that, dear?" Akane asked.

"Oh, nothing, Akane-san. I think I should go to sleep now. A teenage girl like me shouldn't be staying up late at night, _ne_? It's bad for my health." Hikari ran her fingers through her silky, ebony locks as she stood up. "G'night!"

Akane watched Hikari walk towards her room. _And I was so sure that I could handle being this girl's manager_, she thought.

In the bedroom, Hikari flipped open her phone and dialed a number. She spoke as soon as the person she was calling had answered. "Nii-chan, I wanted to talk to you. . . .Oh, yeah? Tomorrow? Sure, that's fine. I'll see you the day after, then."

- - -

Shimizu Hikari sat cross-legged in front of the TV.

"Hikari, watching the news again?" Akane, Hikari's manager, asked.

The girl kept her eyes on the television. "Yeah."

Akane sighed. She knew that once Hikari started answering in monosyllables, the girl wouldn't be so responsive until whatever was keeping her attention was over. The woman still tried though. "_Ne_, I thought we were going to meet with some big Japanese producer, isn't that why we flew all the way here?"

Hikari reached out to grab a piece of candy by the end table. "That's right."

"So when are we planning to meet up with the guy?"

The girl didn't respond. She raised one of her brows as the screen of the television turned blank and a single name appeared: _KIRA_. A distorted voice started to speak, claiming it was Kira.

"Pathetic," scoffed Hikari.

The girl's phone rang then, causing her to jump slightly. "_Moshi moshi?_" she asked as she flipped the phone open and put it next to her ear. "Ah, nii-chan! _Hai_, I'm watching it right now. . .Sure, I'll go and visit you tomorrow, it's no big deal. _Ja_!"

- - -

"Yagami-san, would it be alright if I asked your son to work with us?" L asked, tracing his lower lip with his thumb.

Aizawa and Matsuda exchanged anxious looks as Chief Yagami Souichirou replied, startled, "Does this mean that he's one hundred percent cleared of suspicion?"

L reached out for his cup of tea. "No, I can't say that. . .But I do think that he has very good reasoning abilities."

"Well, if my son agrees to it, then I am under no obligation to stop him," said the Chief.

"_Arigatou gozaimasu_. However, we will keep the fact that this Kira might be fake a secret from him," L added, moving his thumb across his lips. "Let us act as if we suspect there to be only one Kira."

At that moment, Watari entered the room. "Pardon the intrusion, gentlemen," he said, before turning to L. "Ryuuzaki, you have a visitor."

The three police officers exchanged curious glances at each other. Aizawa muttering, "Visitor?" while Matsuda and Chief Yagami remained silent.

"Thank you, Watari, let her in," L said.

Watari disappeared and a young girl entered the room. She couldn't have been any older than fifteen. Her hair was long and black; it was arranged into a neat ponytail, leaving her side-swept bangs to bounce slightly with her every step. Her eyes were dark brown — almost black. Her mouth curved at the end, but only by a small degree.

The silence in the room was broken by Matsuda's gasp. "Shimizu Hikari!"

L grinned sheepishly. "Minna-san, this is Hikari, my sister."

Hikari spoke, "Yo."

Matsuda's eyes widened and when he spoke again, his tone was that of astonishment. "Sister? Shimizu Hikari is Ryuuzaki's sister?"

The girl raised her brow. "You haven't told them yet, nii-chan?"

Aizawa and Chief Yagami spoke in unison, "What's going on, Ryuuzaki?"

"Calm down, Matsuda," L said, before turning to speak to the rest of them. "As I said, she's my sister. Recently, she's been. . .helping me gather information with regards to the Kira case."

"Her?" Aizawa scoffed. "She's only, what, thirteen? Ryuuzaki, how could _she _possibly help with the case if _we_ can't even figure out who Kira is?"

"I'm fourteen, if you must know," Hikari reprimanded. "And I know a lot more than you could possibly—"

She was cut off as L shot her a warning glance. "Aizawa, please calm down. If you could give me a moment to explain. . .?" L paused, continuing only when Aizawa nodded reluctantly. "Hikari has been helping — no, that's not it. You see, I've been training her to be my successor ever since she was little. She's been solving low profile cases for quite a while and is very good at it.

"She's here because I requested her to assist me in this case. She also has some rather interesting theories about how Kira is able to kill, and I'm sure that we could use this extra knowledge to our advantage. Please, don't underestimate her capabilities just because of her appearance and age." L took a sip of his tea, ending his monologue with a tone of finality.

Hikari then spoke slowly, looking intently at each of the police officers. "I'm really sorry about this inconvenience. I'm not sure how to put it, but I think that I know exactly how Kira is murdering all these people. But. . .the thing is, I haven't got the proof. Nii-chan's allowing me to join this investigation so that I may possibly prove my theories right, or, at least, bring us one step closer to finding Kira."

"As much as I would gladly welcome another helping hand in this investigation, I have to ask. . ." Chief Yagami said, tentatively. "You are known throughout the entire world as the actress, Shimizu Hikari, am I correct?"

Hikari nodded.

Aizawa, catching up on the chief's train of thought, said, "Wouldn't it be dangerous for you? I mean, if Kira finds out that _you_ are investigating the murders, wouldn't he be able to kill you? Since he knows your name and face?"

A smile spread on Hikari's face. "You're very perceptive, Aizawa-kun, but I am in no danger."

"How is it that you're not under any risk?" Matsuda said, having recovered from his earlier shock. "I thought that Kira could kill anyone just by knowing their face and name."

Hikari laughed. "Kira may know my face, but what he doesn't know is that the name Shimizu Hikari is an alias." She paused, pondering. "The other Kira, though, may be a problem, since I'm under the assumption that this one can kill by seeing only the person's face. . ."

Everyone became quiet, except for Matsuda who said, "_Sugoi_! Hikari-chan, you came up with the same deduction as Ryuuzaki! You must really be his sister!"

"Matsuda! Will you act like an adult for once?" Chief Yagami sighed.

L sat quietly, assessing all that's been happening.

"Ryuuzaki, how are we sure that Hikari isn't Kira?" Aizawa said, frowning.

L looked at Aizawa for a moment. "Are you saying that my sister is Kira?" he said in his usual amused-but-still-indifferent tone.

Chief Yagami joined in at the new turn the conversation took. "It's a possibility, Ryuuzaki."

L turned to face his sister. "Hikari, are you Kira?"

The others went wide-eyed at L's bluntness.

Hikari's expression turned serious. "If that were so, don't you think you would have died already, nii-chan?"

Aizawa was about to retort, but Chief Yagami beat him to it. "I agree with that. And, no offense, Hikari, I don't think you look like a person who's capable of mass murder. You'd have too much to lose and nothing to gain."

"Too much to lose, huh?" Hikari muttered.

This time, Aizawa was able to speak. "The chief is right."

Matsuda piped up as well, "Besides, Ryuuzaki concluded that Kira was hiding in Kantou, didn't he? And up until a few days ago, Hikari-chan was in America." This piece of knowledge surprised the others.

L nodded. "Matsuda's right. Hikari only knew about the killings when I contacted her after I had my suspicions of a murderer, but she didn't witness the broadcast involving Lind L. Tailor until I sent her a file of that video a few days after."

Aizawa sank back into his seat. "I see. . ."

"So, now that I'm cleared, what's this business with Yagami-san's son?" said Hikari, surprising the officers at her business-like tone.

After that, the atmosphere turned comfortable as Hikari joined them in planning and settling the invitation for Yagami Light, the chief's son, to join the investigation. Every now and then, Matsuda exclaiming his amazement at the many things Hikari knew.

_None of them has it_, Hikari thought as she looked at all of them. _So who does?_

- - -

The next day, everyone prepared for Yagami Light's arrival.

"Thanks, Yagami-kun," L said, shaking Light's hand.

Light smiled. "I also wish to capture Kira, Ryuuga."

"Please call me 'Ryuuzaki' while we're here," L explained.

_Huh_, Light wondered.

Matsuda, Aizawa, and Chief Yagami then introduced themselves using their code names: Matsui, Aihara, and Asahi.

Light's gaze lingered on the girl that stood out from this group.

"I'm Shimizu Hikari," she said, smiling wide.

"Shimizu. . .Hikari? The actress?" Light repeated in confusion. He had recognized her face, but he didn't understand why she could possibly be here.

"_Hai_, I'm also Ryuuzaki's sister," she added nonchalantly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she took a closer look at him.

_L's sister?_ Light thought in amusement as well as irritation. _L's crafty. If she really is his sister, then he can conclude that I'm Kira if she ends up dead shortly after I meet her. Shit, this is going to make everything harder, especially if she knows all of L's suspicions about me. . . .Why the hell is she staring at me like that?_

Light's attention was diverted as L said, "I'm going to call you 'Light-kun' from now on. Well then, please take a look through the Kira-related evidence that we've gathered so far" — L led him to a table stacked with files — "along with this unpublicized video that was sent to a TV station. Taking any of these documents outside and/or writing notes about them is not allowed," he added.

"I understand," Light replied. From behind him, the shinigami, Ryuk, cackled. _What's got Ryuk so amused?_ Light wondered.

As the others positioned themselves a few feet behind the chair Light sat on, Hikari pressed her lips together so that they turned into a thin line. "Nii-chan," she muttered, tugging at the sleeve of L's shirt.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Before Light watches the video, may I speak to him? It's not about the video," Hikari added, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Go ahead."

Hikari walked over to Light, feeling the eyes of the others boring into her back. "Light-kun," she said, lowering her voice into a whisper so that only he could hear.

"Hikari?" Light raised a brow.

"After this, is it possible for me to talk to you alone? Well, 'alone' wouldn't be the appropriate word since Ryuk's going to be there; but, I think you get what I mean?" Hikari said, her tone solemn.

The shinigami behind Light cackled again, louder this time.

Light's expression turned grim, his thoughts swerving out of control as his mind absorbed the girl's words. _She can see Ryuk? _He thought. _Who the heck is this girl?_

**

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A/N: This is short, and a bit vague, yes. But all will be explained later on.

**Have any questions? Feel free to ask :) If you have suggestions, I'd rather that you send them to me via PM :D**

**So, L has a sister, and this story will more or less revolve around that fact and some others.**

**Don't forget to review, okay?**

**Adieu for now,**

**Yuuki :3**


	2. Strategy

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed :)**

**Well, this was a bit troublesome to write. I had to play-pause my DVD just to get everything the way I wanted it -sweat drops- And I had to go through all the rules of the Death Note. Hard, hard work.**

**Oh, and sorry for the late update, my mom took my flash drive. I just got it back :(**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note.**

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**.:: Strategy ::.**

* * *

"Hikari," L said, beckoning his sister back.

The girl turned around in one smooth movement and rejoined the others. "_Ne_, nii-chan, is it alright with you if I talk with him privately? Later?"

L studied Hikari's expression for a minute. "Later."

"_Arigatou_," she said. "Now, if you excuse me, I think I have a call to make."

Hikari walked off to a corner of the room and took out her phone. She dialed a number and hit the "call" button. "Akane-san! Listen, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Can you do me a favor?" she whispered into the phone.

"_Eh? Hikari? Sure. But where are you?_" was the response of her manager from the other end of the line.

"I'm with some friends." Hikari glanced back at the task force. "Listen, I need you to cover up for me the moment the media notices that I'm missing."

"_Missing? Are you sure you're okay?_"

"Yeah — it's not like I haven't gone missing before."

"_Mm, but what do I tell them if ever?_"

"Tell them that I'm on vacation. If they keep on pestering you, tell them that they're close to violating my right to privacy," Hikari added.

"_Something big is up,_" Akane didn't ask; she had meant it as a statement.

"Yeah," Hikari sighed.

"_How long will you be gone for this time?_"

"Quite a while, I suppose."

There was a long pause on the other end, interrupted by Akane's sigh. "_Well, take care, Hikari. Don't get into too much trouble._"

_Click_.

A shaky laugh escaped Hikari's lips at Akane's parting words.

- - -

"Well, Light-kun?" L asked, his finger on his lip. "Were you able to figure anything out?"

Light's eyes narrowed and then relaxed again as he stood up. "There may be more than one person who possesses Kira's power," he answered.

"K-Kira's power?" Chief Yagami gasped. "What do you mean, Light?"

Light looked at his father and pointed at the TV screen. "At the least, there's a good chance that this isn't the Kira that we've been dealing with up to now."

_This would have seemed impressive to me if I hadn't known about Light having a note_, Hikari thought.

"The Kira we've seen so far," Light continued. "wouldn't use people like those in predicted murders. Plus, if we were to assume that Kira needs a face and a name to kill someone, it doesn't make sense that he was able to kill the police officers who rushed to the TV station including the detective."

Aizawa stammered in shock. "I-it's the same!"

"L — I mean, Ryuuzaki and Hikari came to exactly the same conclusion." Matsuda's mouth hung open in amazement.

L still looked at Light. "Just as you said, Light-kun, we also suspect a second Kira."

"So you knew, Ryuuga — no, Ryuuzaki?" Light crossed his arms across his chest. "You knew, and you were just testing me?"

"I wasn't testing you. It's not as convincing if only my sister and I came up with the second Kira theory."

"And now that you've deduced the same thing, it's much more convincing," Hikari added.

"You truly are a great help, Light-kun," L continued. "Truly."

"Then it's decided?" Hikari tilted her head questioningly at her brother.

"Yes," L answered. "First, we must stop the second Kira. He clearly admires the real Kira, and isn't that smart. He might be subservient to Kira. . .So, chances are good that we can stop him if we fabricate a message from the real Kira."

"Just as I'd expect from you, Ryuuzaki," Light said. "I, myself, was thinking that that would be the best move."

"So, Light-kun, I'd like for you to play the role of the real Kira." L concluded.

Light gasped. "M-me?"

"_Hai_," L answered. "Someone as talented as you should be able to pull it off. Either way, we don't have much time. Can you script a message from Kira so we can air it on the evening news?"

The shinigami behind Light — unseen by everyone except for Hikari and Light, himself ­— snickered.

_That bastard_, Light thought. _He brought me in to make me do this?_

- - -

"Hey, Light-kun."

Light looked up from the script he was working on. "Oh, right. You wanted to talk to me, Hikari?"

Hikari sat on the armrest of the couch. "Yeah, I did." She was playing with an apple, rolling it in her hands and tossing it in the air. "Are you aware of the circumstances you've placed yourself in?"

Light smiled darkly. "Are you trying to imply that this will end badly for me?"

"I said no such thing," said Hikari, amused. "I just asked if you were aware of your situation."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of the situation I'm in."

Hikari frowned, collecting her thoughts. She threw the apple in the air, towards the other end of the room. "Ryuk," she said, acknowledging the presence of the shinigami.

"Yo." Ryuk bared his teeth in a grin, catching the apple.

Light's sharp intake of breathe didn't escape Hikari's attention. "Yes, I can see him. You might've figured that out earlier. . ." she whispered, answering the boy's unspoken question.

Light scowled. "How do you know about Ryuk?" he asked hesitantly.

"I've known him for a long, long time." Hikari unconsciously fiddled with a ring on her finger, staring at Light with her big, dark eyes.

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Would it be rude to ask you about it?"

"Not at all," Hikari answered indifferently. "Ask away — there's nothing in my past that would be of much use to you."

Light thought for a moment. _She might be useful_, he told himself. _No matter what she might say._

Being careful not to say anything he might regret, Light asked, "You know about the Death Note?"

Hikari nodded.

"But how can you see Ryuk?" Light wondered aloud.

The girl smiled. "It's kind of a long story. But. . ." Hikari bit her lip, trying to summarize her long history into a few, short sentences in her head. "Well, let's just say that Ryuk dropped more than one Death Note on human land, and that I found one of them."

Light crossed his legs. "That explains very little, Hikari." He continued writing the script that L had tasked him to make.

"I know," she said in response. "It was a very. . .bleak moment in my life, the Death Note and all it brought. But you might say otherwise about your own experience, am I correct, _Kira?_" She whispered the last part.

Light tensed in his seat. He chuckled. "Are you going to tell your brother about the Death Note now?"

Hikari smiled. "No, I don't think so," she said. "At least not yet. I've proposed other theories, but not the one about the notebook that can kill. I don't intend to force that 'theory' on him without proof, though I've hinted on it quite a bit."

"I should feel so lucky." Light rolled his eyes.

"You have an interesting name, Light-kun," Hikari whispered unexpectedly. " 'Yagami' uses the kanji for 'night' and 'god', while 'Light' uses the kanji for 'moon.' Very interesting."

Ryuk, ignored the whole time, laughed. "I forgot that you still had them," he told Hikari.

A pang of understanding hit Light. "You have the eyes?"

"Yes, and so does the second Kira." Hikari frowned. "Oh, you're finished with the script," she said, leaning over to read it.

Light waited in silence for her to finish.

"Hey, Light-kun, if you keep that line there, nii-chan's going to die," she commented.

He laughed. "It's much more convincing that way."

Hikari stood up. "I'd better call nii-chan," she said, turning to leave. But only after a few steps, she turned back. "Light-kun, I don't agree with what you — as Kira — are doing, though I do understand why you're doing it. But it still doesn't justify your actions. Be prepared, Yagami Light. You will be caught in the end."

Light smirked. _This girl really is L's sister_, he thought. _She's given me a very interesting challenge _— _though she'll only lose in the end_.

"Ah, Ryuuzaki," Light greeted a few minutes later, as L entered the room. "How does this look?" He gave L the finished script. "I think I wrote it just as Kira would."

L examined the content of the paper. "It's written amazingly well," he commented. "But if you don't take out the part that says, 'I don't care if you kill L,' I'll die."

Light laughed at the same remark Hikari had made. "Well, when I put myself in Kira's shoes, I figured that he would want L to be killed, no matter what," he explained. Leaning back on the couch, he added, "I wasn't serious, of course. Go ahead and edit that part as you see fit."

"_Hai_," L said, turning to leave. "Aihara-san," he called. "The script is ready. Please go ahead with it."

Aizawa replied from the other room. "Alright."

- - -

"Well, I think I should go home now. It's getting late," Light said, waving goodbye to the rest of the group and heading for the door.

Chief Yagami nodded. "Okay. Be careful, Light."

"See you, Light-kun!" Matsuda waved energetically.

"Bye, Light-kun," Hikari said monotonously. She sat cross-legged on the floor, leafing through documents placed on the coffee table. Her lips pressed together into a thin line as she scrutinized his expression.

Light left the room, bidding them goodnight one last time. He waited until he was outside — out of sight of the surveillance cameras — of the hotel to speak softly to the huge figure beside him. "Ryuk, that girl, she's interesting, isn't she?"

The shinigami smiled. "Yup. She's very smart for a girl her age, I can tell you that."

"Isn't it perfect though?" Light smirked.

"You lost me," Ryuk said confusedly.

Light chuckled darkly. "I mean, I could use her. I could let L find out about the existence of the Death Note, find a way to make Hikari look like she's been the one writing down the names of the criminals, and make myself look innocent all in one move." His eyes widened at the possibilities of his slowly growing plan.

"Sounds like a good plan, but I don't think it'll work," Ryuk commented.

Light frowned. "Hmm, I'll work on that strategy a bit, but I'll keep it as a backup in any case."

"So what are you going to do?"

"She's a girl, Ryuk. It'll be easy for someone like me to manipulate Hikari's emotions." Light looked smug. "Then I could use her to find out L's real name and kill the both of them afterwards."

Ryuk stared at the boy. "You humans really are interesting," he whispered.

"Ryuk." Light stopped walking. "I'm going to win this game. Neither Hikari nor L shall live — I _will_ become the god of the new world."

**

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A/N: Blech. That was rushed X( I really don't like the part when Light says, "She's a girl. . ." I mean, if I had heard him say that, I would be all: "And so what if I'm a girl?" XD

**Anyway, I'm planning to put some details of Hikari's past in the next chapter. Or do you have the patience to find out about that later on, instead? Oh, and have you noticed the thing about Hikari's name yet? :D**

**I want the **_**Death Note: Another Note **_**manga novel thing :(**

**Review, okay?**

**Adieu for now,**

**Yuuki :3**


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